Just one more
by GenesisDragonProject
Summary: When you drive a Ferrari and make money by the millions, you don't expect yourself to stumble into a bar and blurt out all your problems drunkenly. It doesn't matter how nice the bartender is. At least, that's what Hyuuga Natsume tries to tell himself...
1. Hey, Stranger

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice…sadly…and I'm quite forgetful so just in case I'm going to say this is the only disclaimer I'm going to put…**_

_**So, I hope you like it…the idea for this story popped up while I was reading this random article…**_

_**Please Read and Review…reviews fuel my passion for writing…!!!**_

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I crossed my arms over the counter and laid my head over them, trying to relax. It was probably one of the toughest weeks in my life, and I'm not usually one to complain. I'm also not one to drink my problems away but today is a day of firsts. Including the first time I walked aimlessly into the back streets and into a bar where I was using their counter as a pillow.

"Looks like you've had it rough," I heard someone tell me. I cracked open an eye and saw the bartender smile and put a glass of wine in front of me. "Don't see you in these parts, you new?"

I straightened myself up and picked the glass up, "Thanks," I muttered appreciatively as I sloshed the deep red wine around the glass.

"It's not poisoned, you know," the bartender chuckled at me and I took a weary look at her. She was stunning, young, - a bit younger than me- and vibrant. I tipped my head and poured the entire glass of wine down my throat. "Well, you're not quite dead yet, are you?" She took the glass and put it away. Then, she twirled around to face me and propped her head on her elbow resting on the counter. "Well, as it seems you have had it rough, stranger, want to talk about it?"

I gave her an icy stare that would've scared off most people. But she just kept on staring at me with her deep chocolate-brown eyes; it felt like she saw straight through me. "Why would I tell you and why would you even want to listen?" I asked her dully.

"Well, on account myself, I'm a bartender. I do two things in this job: serve drinks and be a free psychiatrist. And for you, I was just kind of hoping you'd tell me, after all you're practically the last person in here and I got nothing to do," she told me playfully, and something in her voice made me believe that she was being sincere about it.

My stare turned blank and I sighed, "Give me another glass of that stuff," if today was going to be the first time I spilled my guts to a person I just met, today might as well be the first time I blame everything on alcohol.

"All right, then," the ever-mysteriously-benevolent bartender's smile widened as she went to get me another glass.

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The next day, I woke up to a strong wave of nausea and a painful hang over. I knew I could hold my alcohol well so it lead me to wonder how many glasses of that wine did I really down that night…_last night…_I still can't believe what happened! I told her everything and now I'm beating myself up over it!

I dragged my sore and aching body into the bathroom and shut the door firmly behind me. I turned the water on and reveled in the feeling of the water pouring over me as I rested my forehead on the cool tiles of the bathroom wall. I sighed deeply. If I was going to get over it sometime, it'd be best to be right now. And it's not like I'm ever going to meet her again and it's not like she knows who I am…I think…Hell, I'm acting as if I'd just had a one-night stand with the woman…and I can rest assured that that is one thing that I have never done and never plan to do – one first I'll never have a first of.

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Today, I'd managed to push that girl from last night and focus on work. The load at work was starting to lighten up and I was starting to get more breathing room. And I was planning to meet Ruka this afternoon, that best friend of mind just got back from a month long business trip yesterday. And Imai – that slave-driver fiancée – was coming, too; she kind of annoys me. It really made me wonder why in the right mind would Ruka ever propose to that Ice-queen. But when I'd asked him about him he just laughed and said that he supposed love worked that way. I sighed – I've been doing that a lot lately – and picked up the folders I would read in the car. It was almost three in the afternoon and he told me he'd be at the lobby by three.

* * *

It was easy enough to spot him and his – urg- fiancée Imai. They were sitting in the café by the entrance, talking to each other. As he was walking towards them, Ruka saw him and stood up. "Yo, Natsume. Ready to go?"

"Ah," I deadpanned.

Imai smirked at me, "You never change," she told me when we started walking towards the car. I scowled at her and turned away. I have to be extra careful with what I do around her, because I if wasn't I might just end up as the center of her blackmail schemes.

We got into the car and Ruka revved the engine, turning to him I asked, "Where are we headed?"

The car exited the parking lot and onto the busy streets, "This place Hotaru and I go to often."

"Hm, all right," I shrugged and stared out the window. And for the umpteenth time today the chocolate-brown-eyed girl made her way back into my mind. I groaned inwardly and promptly shook the image out of my head. Bringing out the documents I had brought with me, I tried my best to fill my head with numbers, notes and Ruka's blabbering.

It took about half an hour before we got there and Ruka found a place to park. The three of us got off and Ruka was still animatedly discussing with me what happened in his one month absence when we stepped into the restaurant. "Wel-ahh! Hotaru-chan! Ruka-pyon!" …I gulped…that voice was way too familiar…I thought when I saw a toffee-haired girl pounce on Imai.

"Let go, baka," Imai deadpanned at the ever-so-familiar girl.

"Don't be so mean, Hotaru-chan, it's been such a long time since you two have stopped by!" The girl took a step back and I saw her face clearly.

Ruka pulled me towards them. "Natsume, come on I'll introduce you."

"You," I breathed out in shock. Ruka looked at me quizzically and the girl inclined her head towards me.

"You know each other, Natsume?" I vaguely heard Ruka ask me.

The toffee-haired girl smirked at me, "Welcome back, how are you doing today, stanger?"

I felt like I was just hit by a train.

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_**Hope you liked it! I for one think I didn't do very well on this…**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW!!! Reviews fuel my passion for writing…they really do…**_


	2. Trains, Brains, and Party Pains

**TRAINS, BRAINS, and PARTY PAINS**

**Sorry I couldn't update for a while…okay…not a while…SO HERE IT IS!!!! READ AND REVIEW!!!**

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**I sat across the toffee-haired girl with Ruka on my left and Imai on her right, drumming my fingers on the table. We lapsed into a tense silence, the girl still smiling amusedly, until Ruka started to speak.

"So, do you two know each other from somewhere?"

The girl across me tucked a stray hair behind her ear and I couldn't help but follow her hand as it grazed her cheeks and my eyes snapped back to her bright chocolate ones as she started to speak. "I guess you could say that," she extended her hand across the table for a hand shake. "Yoroshiku, Hyuuga Natsume." She smiled sincerely.

_How did she know my name? _I thought, extending my hand to grab hers. It lingered there for a split second until I let go. "Hn."

"Right, I have yet to introduce myself. Sakura Mikan, do you by any chance remember who I am?"

Imai raised her eyebrow in amusement and I felt that train hit me again. SAKURA MIKAN?! I could barely contain my surprise, she was like the hotter, saner, cooler, and younger version of Einstein! She was the vice-president(her father was the president) one of the world's leading technological companies, what was she doing as a bartender?!

"Surprised, Hyuuga?" Imai mocked monotonously.

"So you two have met?" Ruka repeated his question. I nodded coolly and stared at her frigidly, worried that she might tell them all about last night's episode which I had tried so hard to convince myself didn't happen.

"Yeah, we ran in to each other the other day. I always hear about him though. He's always on the news, ne, Ruka-pyon?" She replied playfully. Ruka nodded but Imai looked like she was suspecting something, as usual. I sighed inwardly; thankful she knew not to tell them, deep inside though I had this weird feeling that she was mocking me for not knowing who she was. Cut me some slack, I'm too busy to stare at your face in the newspaper or on TV. _Although, now I feel that I wouldn't have minded staring at you for a while._

For the first time since I stepped into this place this morning, I spoke, "What are you doing working here exactly, Sakura-san?" I asked bluntly.

"I get bored easily and please, call me Mikan. It's just a thing I like doing, a hobby. Perhaps, I like comforting people even if all I do is listen to their problems late at night or sometimes even early in the day, it really depends on the person." She grinned at me, innocence exuberating from her. I gulped.

"I see." I deadpanned.

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I ate silently, answering only when they asked me something. I avoided looking at her as I ate, I could feel her staring at me and even weirder I could feel Imai staring at me once in a while. Imai was sharp, I'd known she'd caught on to something when Ruka dropped me off at the entrance of my mansion that night after eating.

"I'll see you around then, Natsume!" Ruka said, twirling his keys in his hand.

I leaned on the doorframe and raised my hand as some sort of good-bye. "Hn."

He smiled his usual smile, "Call me if you've got any problems?"

Following Ruka's retreating back, Imai stopped, turned to look at me and smirked. "You'll be calling someone all right." And she continued to walk to their black Audi.

Her words continued to echo in my head. The only thing I could think of was: _Damn it!_

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The next morning I spent a hell load of time staring up at the ceiling of my bedroom. I rushed out the front door, I guess I spent too much time being occupied with the ceiling, but not before stopping and telling the startled maid to have the ceiling fixed as soon as possible – there was a crack on it.

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I got into my Ferrari – I don't like flaunting my money but I'm a sucker for a nice ride deep down – and drove to the Hyuuga Industries building absent-mindedly. As I was walking through the main door a familiar patch of toffee caught my eye, I turned my head swiftly and saw _her _again. She turned around and waved at me, motioning for me to go over there. I covered the distance to her in ground-eating strides and before I knew it I was standing in front of her.

"We just keep running into each other, now don't we?" she chuckled.

I suppressed the overwhelming urge to rub the bridge of my nose. "What are you doing here?" I asked flatly.

"It seems you're not in the best mood today. Do you want another session with your unpaid psychiatrist?" she said mirthfully.

I glared at her and she sighed. "I just thought I'd invite you to a party that my company is holding this Saturday night at the Sakura estate. All the industrial big shots are going to be there so I thought maybe you'd like to use this opportunity to come and rub elbows or something business-like."

I thought about it for a while. I hated events like those, people all shiny and glittery, looking their best to impress some prospective buyer or investor. But then my father's voice rang in my head and I sighed. I had to show my face sometime after all. _Or maybe you'd like to see her face. _A voice rang in my head, I used my conscious mind to bury it under 20 feet of mental soil and concrete. Last time I'd been to these parties was last year or sometime around that. I motioned her to follow me up to my office and she smiled.

Once upstairs we both sat down on opposite ends of the table in my office. "It's a formal event for no particular reason. You know…business and all."

_Oh, I knew._

We chatted for a few more minutes after that, well, it was mostly her talking with me being a human statue there and all. She talked about the usual things, business, work, the beach, the bar, if I was alright, if I had a hangover yesterday – okay, not very usual things but she comfortable saying them while I oh-so discreetly stared at her plump lips move, wondering in some detached way if it was a good idea to go to the party after all. _Of course it is!_ A tiny voice in the back of my mind told me.

She stood up afterwards, getting ready to leave. With her back turned to me and her hand on the doorknob, she stopped. "By the way, you're going to have to be my date on Saturday. I'll call you!" The door snapped shut behind her before I had time to react.

There was the train again…back-tracking just to run me over one more time.

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**Mikan POV**

He was interesting guy to say the least. But did he really think I didn't notice him staring at me 'discreetly', I'm not a genius for nothing. I walked to my car happily, I was glad I'd get to see him again. I know it was a far off chance that he'd actually really like me but it was no harm to try. He wasn't the type of guy that'd give in so easily. I pretty much got that the other night when he got wasted pretty badly. Even after the alcohol intake, he was still pretty lucid other than the whole tip and tumble thing he was doing. Little does he know that I'm actually the one who drove him home the other night. I'm actually just pretty thankful that he woke up when we got to his house because I don't know how to explain to the people inside it why I was lugging Hyuuga Natsume into his bedroom at four in the morning.

Maybe I sprung the whole date thing on him too suddenly now that I think about it. I smiled inwardly; Saturday is something to look forward to at least.

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**Well, there it goes. I think the pace for this was a bit unsatisfactory…but still, here it is!!! I hope you like it!!! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!**


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